Stephen A. Carter
Encyclopedia
Stephen Andrew Carter, Baron Carter of Barnes, CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

 (born 12 February 1964), is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 businessman and politician who was previously Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Government.

Biography

Born in Scotland, Carter was educated at Currie High School
Currie High School
Currie Community High School is a six year comprehensive school serving the south-west of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. The school roll currently stands at 982 of whom some 20% attend as a result of parental placing requests. The school's feeder primary schools are Currie Primary School, Nether...

, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

. From 1982-87 he studied a law degree at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...

, where he graduated with LLB Hons and was the student president in 1985-86. He completed the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

's Advanced Management Program in 1997. He is currently the President/MD for Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...

 in Europe Middle East & Africa.

Career

After graduation from the University of Aberdeen, he joined the international advertising agency group J Walter Thompson UK
JWT
JWT is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group and is headquartered in New York. The global agency is led by Worldwide Chairman and Global CEO Bob Jeffrey who took over the...

, where he stayed for many years. The last 6 of which he was MD & CEO of their business in UK & Ireland. From 2000 - 2003, Carter served as the MD & COO of UK cable TV company NTL, guiding the company to establish a leading position in the UK broadband market. The Group was required, given market conditions, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which required a complete restructuring of the UK & Ireland business, and the subsequent takeover of the business by a group of previous bondholders.
He presided over the bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 protection proceedings of NTL, which at the time had debts of £12bn. Carter left NTL at the end of 2002 as the Group was poised to exit Chapter 11, with a payoff of £1.7m in compensation, including a £600,000 bonus. The company resolved a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...

 law suit brought by shareholders by paying out $9 Million in compensation in late 2007.,

From 2003 - 2007, Carter served as the founding CEO of Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...

, the then newly created UK Media Telecoms Competition and Sectoral Regulator. During this time the hallmarks of his term of office was the restructuring of the wholesale telecoms market, and the accelleration of the UK broadband market. In recognition of his services, he was awarded the CBE in the 2007 Honours list. After a brief period back in the private sector with the private advisory firm Brunswick, he returned to public life as Chief of Strategy for Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

, and then as Minister for Communications, Technology & Broadcasting, where he commissioned and wrote The Digital Britain Report, and the follow on Digital Economy Act 2010
Digital Economy Act 2010
The Digital Economy Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating digital media. Introduced by Peter Mandelson, Lord Mandelson, it received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010, and came into force on 8 June 2010 The Digital Economy Act 2010 (c. 24) is an Act of the Parliament of...

.

Because Carter was not a Member of Parliament, it was necessary to appoint him to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. As a result, he was created Baron Carter of Barnes, of Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...

 and was introduced in the Lords on 16 October 2008 by Lord Currie and Lord Puttnam. He served in the House of Lords on the front bench in his capacity as Minister.

Additionally he has served on the Board of a number of companies, including Travis Perkins PLC, Royal Mail PLC, 2Wire Inc, and is currently a Non Executive Director at Informa PLC, and Chairman of the Ashridge Business School.

In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Laws LLD by his home university, Aberdeen.

In April 2010 Carter became Chief Marketing, Strategy & Communication Officer for Alcatel-Lucent.

Resignation

Lord Carter announced on 11 June 2009 that he would be resigning from his ministerial post following the publication of his Digital Britain report.

External links

  • Lord Carter of Barnes entry on TheyWorkForYou
    TheyWorkForYou
    TheyWorkForYou is a website run by mySociety, a project of registered charity UK Citizens Online Democracy, and is a tool for political campaigners and those interested in the Parliamentary activities of UK MPs, Lords, and Northern Ireland MLAs....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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